Improvement in machines for jointing staves



rTo all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

EDWARD HOLMES AND BRITAIN HOLMES, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAoHiNi-:s Foa .ioiNTlNe'l sTAvEs.

' Specification forming 4part of Letters PatentyNo. 80,483, dated July 2B, 18,68.

Be it known thatwe, EDWARD HOLMES and BRITAIN HOLMES, of the ci ty of Buffalo, county-j of Erie, and State of New York, have invented a 'certain new and Improved/Stave-Jointing Machine; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description there-v of, reference being had to the accompanying' i drawings, making a part of this specification 'series of; transverse ribs of equal depth `but varying length, each piece being hinged-at its center independently of the others,=in combinat-ion withatransverse Ycer'eatuiein.-tleiejup-V perclampfbar, so that staves of different width will beheld at different angles,as will be more fully described, in order to present` them to the cutters in amannerto give them the `required `bevel and bil'ge due to their widths; second,

4in two .feed-arms or eveners supported upon a rock-shaft and pressed against the under side of the upper clamp-bar by means of-a weighted arm attached to the said rock-shaft for the purpose of feeding the staveserenly to the action of the knives in a manner to make the'ends of the staves of equalwidth;` third, in the com`v bination o f a friction-clutch, weighted lever, 'and pedal, by which means the gearing which operatesthe clamp may be stopped instantan'eously whenever required; fourth,in the combination 'and arrangement `of a rock-shal't'ca'-- rying pinions or `segments uponeach end,

'which' gear with stationary racks in such-man `face of eachcutter-head, whichdeterinine-the ner that by taking holdl of "anarm connectedL 'to'said shaftthe same may be revolved for the purpose of operating the clamp, and thereby i'cedingthe staves to the action of the cut` ters. r

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

"A A representl the cutter-heads, supported upon .the shaftsB B' in line with orslightly. inclined to each other, said shafts being'coupi led together at-their contiguous ends,by a unif versal joint, C, and having their bearings in double pillow-blocks D D', which are vsupvother end pr Y 1 ported upon turn-table `pedestals D? D4, or

equivalentdevices, the construction of which permits the angle of thehafts t'o or diminished, as desired.

B3 is a pulley -upon the shaft B', by means of which the shafts and cutter-heads are re heads may be made in the shape of completel drums or cylinders, or of. segments thereof,

proper size andform-to receive and hold the cuttingknivcs.

E represents the knives, secured by bolts to the cutter-heads, their'cutting-edges being injclined atan an'gle to the line of motion from their contiguous ends to their outer ends, so that they maystrike the stave at the center and pass through with a drawingcut to the ends t'her'eof,` The kniies of one head are -Y-pl-aced in `ad rance-of those ofthe other, so that their rcontiguous ends overlap each other, as shown in Fig. Il; togive an unbroken cut over the whole length of the stave. The knives 4have alongitudinal curvature-such that ra- 'dial lines drawn from different points yof their cutting edge gradually increase in length from their ,contiguous ends (or center of the heads considered as 'a whole) to their outward endsb-ilgeto thc staves. heads are of course formed with acorresppnd.- .ing curvature. The knives are bolted to the heads, with the bevel upon the inside, and Atheir outer surfaceV is turned concentric with to prevent the knifefromf drawing intoLthe enfasi-it.passesthrough thestave.`V`

Adjustable guards F are placed upon the thickness of cut'the knives arlallotveilo fat.' one end, as shown at f', Fig. LII, andthe oje'ctingjto within close proximity ofthe cutting-edge ofthe knives,

lThe clamp which holds the stares in their presentation to thecutters consists of an upper bar, Gr, which is s`t'ationary,lauda lower bar, Gf, which is movable, so that the clamp 'may be opened "to receive `the `st`aveand closed to hold it-frmly while being vpresented tothe action of the cutters. The-clamp is placed lor'igitudi be increased volved with the required velocity. vThe cutterv supported by rims, said segmentsl being of the i which curvature is such as to give the required The 4knife-seats on the the axis of the heads, so that it acts on a guard Vstave and avoid-increasing thefthikuess of make.' They c insist of a curved `bar,-hi nged 2 swiss ually parallel to the axis of thc cutter-heads, and is supported upon the swinging arms H, hinged to the shaft I, which allow the clamp a movement at right angles to the axis of the cutters. The clamp-bars are given alongitudinal curvature, the upper one concave and the lower one convex, so that the stave is bentI in clamping, which will hohl it more securely and firmly than if it wereclamped straight. The npper clampbar has also a slight transverse twist from its center toward each end, which will throw the ends of the stave forward to- -ward the cutter-heads sufficiently to'compen sate for that portion of' the circle of heads it; takes iup in bending. The upper clampbar is, bolted at its ends to the arms H, and thelower clainpbar to arms H', moving in guide-grooves upon the inside 0f the arms H.' The lower ends of the arms arc provided with a sliding socket, J which passesthrough ears projecting from the sides of the arms, and has a' rubber spring, J', inserted between them, which springs will yield to accom inodatevaryiug thicknesses of staves. The socket-extensions carry upon their lower ends friction-rollers h4, which ride upon cams I', keyed upon the shaft I, which cams by their revolution raise and lower the lower clamp-bar to open and ciose the clamp. The shaft l is driven by gear of such proportions as will give the cams the re.

quired velocity to operate the clamps a certain number of times per` minute, which number will be the number of staves thel machine is capable of jointing. The cams must be made of such form as will hold thevclamp closed long enough for the stave to be fed up to and back from the cutters, and then open and hold it open long enough for thejointed stave to beremoved and a new one inserted. The closing movement should be slow and powerful.'

Staves of different widths require to have different bilge and bevel given thereto. Sup posing the stave to be presented tc the cutters with the plane of its surface pointirig to the axis ofthe cutters, it would receive no' bevel, but

its edge would be cut at rightangles to its surface. The stave consequently requires to be so inclined that the plane ot' its surface shall v point above the axis of the cutter-heads according to its widthmore for a wide stave, which requires more bevel, and less for a narrow stave, which requires less' bevel, This is accomplished by the action ot' the stationary rests or ribs 7a upon the under side of the upper clamp-bar, G, and the movable rests or ribs 7c' upon the upper side of the lower clamp-bar, G', in the following manner: The under side of the ribs k has a transverse curvature, so that a stave being placed in the clamp with its front edge coincident with the `front edge of the clamp, or rather in advance of the saine sufficient to allow for iointing, will assume the position of the chord of an arc of said transverse curvaturethe length of said chord being the width ofthe stave, so that stavesof differcntwidths will form chords of dilf.1eiitle1igtl1s.

quredbilge due to its width.

Consequently, the transverse curvature ofthe said ribs or rests 7c bearing such relation to the cutter-heads that the chord of its whole arc prolonged wili strike above the axis ot' the eut; ter-heads a distance necessary to give the required bevel t0 thel widest stave, the chord of any lesser. arc of the transverse curvature (measuringfrom the common point of the'front edge of theclamp-bar) will strike nearer the axis of the cutter-heads and in exact proportion to the length of said arc, so that the invclination of the stave will'always be governed by its width and in a manner tc give it the re- The operation of this transverse curvature in varying the inclination of the stave in proportion toits width is further illustrated by the diagran Fig. IV, in which-1 represents the center ofthe cutterheads; 2, the whole arc of the transverse curvalower clamp-bar, G', with the several series ot' rib-pieces, 7c', of equal depth, but those of each series' or set'being of different length, and each piece being hinged independently ofthe others at its center, as represented a't Figs. III and- V. These rib-pieces will assume such positions or inclinations as the curvature of the upper bar gives the stave, as before' described, and will clamp the stave to said bar only at its edges, so that any ytendency to bend or split the saine is avoided. The different lengths of the rib-pieces accommodate for and insure this action in'different 4widths of staves.

1n feeding the staves for the jointing ofthe first edge they do not require to be placed in the cla-mp with any great degree oi' accuracy, it only being necessary that .they should project far; enough in advance of the clamp-bar. to allow sufficient stock for the action of the knives; but in jointing the second edge they require tobe-fed with great accuracy to insure the stave being ot" equal width at each end. For this purpose we providetwo feed-arms, L, supported upon a roclcshaftLL. Thishrgekshaft is parallel with the clamp and the axis of the cnttenhead, andlocated between both. The arms L project forward below the upper clamp-bar, and thejrock-shaft L' is provided with a weighted arm, L2, in such manner that f the feed-arms rest against t'he under side of the upper clamp-bar. Each feed-arm is so bent as to form a notch or shoulder upon its upper side, which answers the ypurpose of a guide against which the stave maybe fed to'insure its being made of equal width at each end, as above stated. The rock-shaft is supported by I the-long radinsarrns L3, which ailow it to move r made to rock in a manner to either rnshythe clamp forward or'draw it back whenever it becomes necessary to do so.

,...mrepresentsafrictiomclntch, by which the. gearing which operates the clamps connected f to the driving-pulley. Thi-'s `clutch is milde self-adjusting by means of the weightedlever n, which retains it in constant contact with the "driving-pulley. f

-O is -;a 'pedal-lever hinged upon its center', and-'having an inclined plane or-bevel vformedf upon its back, and which is in closeproximity with the weighted lever n; jBy pressi'ngwith the foot upon this pedal the operator may easily and quickly 'lift' the weight, disengage the clutch, and hence'v stop the driving-gear ofthe .v clamp whenever it becomesnecessaryto do so.

P P'lare guards, made of sheet metal or wood,

which surround the cutter-heads for the pur pose of preventing accidents.

, What we claim as our` invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is t 1. The exible hinged ribs k', in combination with the stationary ribs 7c, c mstructed, arranged, and operating for Iche purpose and substantially as described.

2. The eveners or feed-arms L, for the puri Y pose substantially as set forth.

3. 'rue combination of the friction-clutch m, l

weighted lever n, and pedal O, arranged and, operating irrthe' mannersubstantiallyzsdes scribed. l 4. The"y combination of the horizont-ai rack T, pinion o r segment S upon the rock-shaft S, and arm B, arranged 'and operating fornthe purpose and substantially as described.-

. EDWARD HOLMES.'

BRITAIN HOLMES.

Witnesses:

W. H. FoRE'UsH,

x EDWARD WILHELM. 

